


To Freeze or To Thaw

by PrideofMtVernon



Category: Motherland: Fort Salem (TV)
Genre: Camarilla (Motherland: Fort Salem), F/F, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Raelle is dumbass, Sexy weird, but Scylla loves her anyway
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-05
Updated: 2020-06-06
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:42:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,766
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24548590
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PrideofMtVernon/pseuds/PrideofMtVernon
Summary: Post season 1. Raelle and Scylla centric. Bellweather and Tally are also there. It's gay. They have feelings. What else do you need to know?Alternately: Murder nugget is softTM for Local Dumbass. Local Dumbass has feelings for Murder Nugget.
Relationships: Raelle Collar/Scylla Ramshorn
Comments: 32
Kudos: 266





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This started as a one shot and then I was starved for content. Let me know what you think.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Raelle and Scylla are left to fend for themselves off the coast of New England.
> 
> Alternately: Murder nugget protects local Dumbass while New England weather does what New England weather does best.

The helicopter swayed dangerously as the winds of an oncoming Nor’ Easter attempted to throw it from the air. They flew low over the Atlantic somewhere off New England’s coast surrounded by thick fog. The Camarilla soldiers tightened their grips on their arms as the helicopter shuddered. Whether due to a witch storm or a natural one, wind that causes a flying hunk of metal to veer off course was never a pleasant experience.

Raelle leaned forward, teeth clenched, attempting to stifle the grown as pain shot through her shoulder. It didn’t help that the zip-tie cuffs her captors had bound her with forced her hands behind her back. It was only supposed to be reconnaissance. The base they were searching was supposed to be low profile, minor activity, and instead it had been crawling with the witch-hating bastards that now held her captive.  
Scylla nudged Raelle’s knee with her leg. “You doing okay?”

“No talking.”

Scylla glared at the Camarilla soldier who barked the order. If looks could kill, or if Scylla hadn’t been wearing a witch collar, the man across from them would be dead. “She needs medical attention. The handcuffs are making her injury worse. Just cuff her hands in front please.” Scylla must have sounded desperate or maybe Raelle didn’t looking incredibly threatening while pale from blood loss and wearing a collar of her own, and the first soldier that spoke glanced at his colleague who only shrugged.

“You try anything, and I will make sure you regret it.” He put his whip down and grasped at the handholds on the ceiling to move closer. He pulled a knife from his belt and she twisted so that he could reach her ties. The plastic relaxed around her wrists and the pain in her shoulder subsided slightly. “Put your hands out.” 

Before she could second guess herself, or consider the various pros and cons to a decision that would no doubt have Anacostia shaking her head, she checked him with her good shoulder grabbing the knife from his belt at the same time. The Camarilla soldier stumbled, arms flailing to reach a hand hold and Raelle grabbed Scylla, knife in hand, throwing both of them out of tlhe chopper into the dark and frigid water below.

The impact hurt, the water was freezing, and the waves towered over them. Raelle grabbed Scylla and sliced through her cuffs with the knife before tossing it. It was as if the sea was at war with itself. Each wave was eclipsed by a larger, angrier swell. Scylla stayed close as they began to swim, struggling against the sea's pull and taking advantage of it where they could.  
Exhaustion crept into Raelle’s limbs as her clothing weighed her down and each stroke was a painful reminder of the gash on her shoulder. It would be so easy to stop moving, to let the sea take her. It was calmer beneath the waves where the sound was muted, and the storm couldn’t reach.

\--

Scylla dragged Raelle from the surf. Winds screamed and the fog blocked any moonlight from reaching them. Her hands were numb and clumsy as she wiped Raelle’s wet blonde hair away from her face. “Raelle. Raelle, come on, open your eyes.” She wasn’t dead, Scylla would have felt it. But that didn’t make the other girl’s stillness anymore reassuring. “Goddess, please.” Dazed eyes blinked slowly and focused on her.

“We finally made it.” Raelle smiled exhausted and Scylla raised one quizzical eyebrow wondering just how far gone her partner was. “To the beach. We finally made it to the beach.”

Scylla sighed, torn between kissing her and smacking her upside the head. “You could have drowned.”

“I knew you would save me.” She seemed so certain of it, pale blue eyes communicating her conviction in the statement.

Scylla pursed her lips, shoving aside her want to question what that might mean. “Let’s get out of here.” She pulled Raelle to her feet and removed the witch collar, tossing it to the ground with her own. “We need to find shelter until we can contact Tally.”

They began a steady trek away from the rocky beach with Raelle’s good arm slung over her shoulder, the younger girl leaning on her heavily. Her boots sloshed with water every step and despite her toes being numb from the cold she knew blisters had started to form. She had debated taking them off but decided against it favoring blisters over sharp rocks and broken glass. 

The forest produced a cacophony of sound with every gust, but it gave them more shelter from the wind than an open beach did. An inch of snow covered the ground and frosted leaves crunched underfoot. November in New England was a less than optimal time to be soaked to the bone. “Here. This will do.” 

A tree had been uprooted and leaned against its neighbors leaving a shelter of sorts made up of an extensive root system. Scylla helped Raelle to the ground as the other girl shivered violently and struggled to stay conscious. “Rae, you have to stay awake.” Scylla pulled off the other woman’s boots and socks, numb hands fumbling awkwardly.

“I am awake.” Her words were slurred and the panicked rhythm of Scylla’s heartbeat quickened.  
Scylla reached for Raelle’s belt. She needed to keep her talking. As long as she was talking, she was conscious. “What do you think Anacostia will have to say about this?” No answer. “Raelle. Raelle!” Blue eyes blinked slowly. “What do you think Anacostia will say when she finds out about all of this?”

“I don’t know.” Scylla busied herself with pulling off Raelle’s pants as the other girl talked. “She’s probably gonna be impressed. She’ll do that thing where she pretends to be mad, but then she’ll go tell the other officers how great we are.” Scylla pulled at the hem of her shirt, trying to get Raelle’s arms up, when she jerked back with a curse, face contorted in pain.

“Shit, you shoulder. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” She was more careful this time, tearing at the fabric to loosen it and helping Raelle out of the shirt.

Once Raelle was free of her wet clothing Scylla started on her own, removing boots and BDUs and stripping down to her underwear. She crawled closer to Raelle and pulled the other woman into her lap. Her lips were blue and she shivered violently. Scylla rubbed at her arms and hummed a seed trying to warm them both. She felt something hot and wet on her hand and pulled back startled until she realized the wound on Raelle’s back had opened back up. The cold water had helped to slow the blood flow, but it had started again. Probably when she had removed Raelle’s shirt and with it any progress toward congealing.

She took a minute to concentrate. She wasn’t a fixer, but at the end of the day, magic was still magic. It was the movement of energy from one thing to another. She felt the link form slowly. There was an uncomfortable burning in her shoulder and the fatigue she had been fighting seemed to worsen. At the same time, some of the color returned to Raelle’s face, her wound was still fresh, but it had stopped bleeding. “That’s enough, Scyl,” Raelle croaked groggily. “Don’t wear yourself out.”

Scylla wanted to roll her eyes. Had their positions been reversed Raelle wouldn’t have listened to her. But being a self-sacrificing dumbass was Raelle’s thing, not hers and despite the hypocrisy of the situation, the fixer was right. They didn’t know how long the wait for a rescue would be and at least one of them needed to be somewhat functional if they were going to get out alive.

It had started to rain, falling in sheets and melting the snow that covered the ground. Scylla hummed a seed to protect them from the rainfall and the worst of the wind. Raelle still shivered in her lap and warm puffs of air ghosted over Scylla’s collarbone ever few moments. Blonde hair tickled the underside of chin and she held Raelle tighter. “You had me worried for a minute there.”

“Hmm.”

“The complete lack of comments about me trying to  
get in your pants or the fact that we’re cuddling in our underwear right now was really concerning.” She felt Raelle’s laugh more than heard it.

“Sorry. I’ll keep that in mind for next time. It could be worse though. I could be with Bellweather right now.”

“I thought the two of you got along now.”

“We do. Still, she’s gonna be pissed when she finds out what happened.”

“Is she going to be mad about the part where you jumped out of a helicopter into the Atlantic or the part where you did it without her?”

“I don’t know. Probably both.”

They sat in silence for a while as the storm terrorized the forest around them. Wind screamed and trees swayed, and rain fell harder than before. Scylla glanced towards their wet clothing she had spread out and at the jackets hanging on outstretched roots. At some point it would be worth drying them and putting them back on. Witch’s blood only went so far in beating back the cold.

“I miss you.” It was spoken so softly it almost went unheard, lost to the wind and rain. “I know we said we needed to take things slow, that we needed to figure out how to be friends, how to trust each other before moving onto anything else, but I miss you.”

Scylla kissed Raelle’s forehead softly and pressed her nose to messy blonde hair. She smelled like the ocean now. Beneath it there was sweat, the faint scent of regulation shampoo, and something else that was distinctly a Raelle smell.

“Sometimes it feels like we’re going about this wrong. We’re taking things slow, but we almost die every other week. What if one of us dies before we ever…you know I love you right?” She sounded young and uncertain and Scylla felt her heart break just a little.

“I know, baby. I know. I love you, too.”

Scylla fell asleep with Raelle in her arms, awkwardly leaning against trees roots. She slept fitfully, waking with the harsher gusts of wind and shivering when the cold became too much. Scylla thought it was the best sleep she had in ages.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I need a season 2. I also need to go to bed. Hope you liked it.
> 
> In the original version of this they end up in a run down cabin but I ended up changing it for Reasons. Regardless, I can happily tell you that running across a cabin in some form of disrepair in what is an otherwise unoccupied area is way more common in New England than you would think.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wow, this kid actually following up on a fic?

Abigail jumped from their boat into the shallow water, dragging it forward with Tally on the other side. Eventually it bottomed out, and while Tally grabbed the anchor, Abigail carried their bags farther up the shore. The beach was rocky, covered in seaweed, and ended abruptly at the tree line. On the horizon pale blue sky met blue grey water. It was pretty, she supposed, in its own bleak kind of way.

“You’re sure they’re here?”

Tally joined her and shouldered her pack. “I’m the unit’s looker remember?”

“I know. And you’re the best in our class, if not the best in whole college. It just looks kind of desolate.”

Tally hummed in agreement. “Next time they get captured they should try to hide somewhere prettier.”  
Abigail rolled her eyes and Tally grinned. “They should be up ahead.”

The pair moved off the beach and into the forest, eyes and ears peeled for hostiles. It was after 30 minutes that they stopped. Tally sighed irritated. “We’ve been going in circles.”

“They probably set up a cloaking spell. I know Adil was working on something with Scylla, maybe they ended up with a finished product.”

“Do you still have your link with Raelle from the witch bomb?”

Abigail shook her head. “It’s been fading steadily.”

“Tally? Bellweather?”

Tally’s face split into a grin and Abigail turned to see two tired looking witches sitting under the roots of an upturned tree. She swore they hadn’t been there a second ago. “What’s up, shitbirds?” Tally and Abigail put down their packs and dug through them bringing out blankets, extra clothes, water, and food, the last of which Raelle tore into hungrily like it was a feast rather than dried rations provided by the military.

“How did you find us?”

“Tally’s the best looker in the college, of course we found you.”

“It did take a bit though. Any chance you were using a cloaking spell?” The necro nodded as she pulled on the dry BDUs and then grabbed a blanket and wrapped it around Raelle’s shoulders.

“It blocks short range scrying only. Adil and I had been working on it. We hadn’t tested it in any significant way though.”

The Bellweather unit and their necromancer made their way back to the old fishing boat. Scylla helped Raelle in and clambered after her, sitting closer than usual. Abigail raised an eyebrow and glanced towards Tally who had noticed the same thing. She only shrugged. If Collar was finally trusting the necro again it was good for all of them. Raelle liked to act like she was made of steel and that she could take anything the world threw at her and while it was certainly true to an extent, Scylla was good for her. She reigned in the reckless part of Raelle better than anyone else could and seemed to have a grounding effect on the fixer.

Tally pushed the boat off the shore and clambered in after Abigail who had taken a seat at the stern with a hand on the motor.

Getting back to base meant Raelle and Necro were sent to sickbay. Scylla was mostly fine as it turned out. She was told she needed bedrest but was otherwise fine. Raelle on the other hand was told to wait. The cut on her shoulder needed to be properly attended to and the blood loss made the attending fixer raise an eyebrow.

Raelle looked ready to protest, indignant at being told to ‘rest’ or ‘take it easy’ because she was ‘a fixer’ and knew ‘how much is too much.’ Instead, Scylla held her hand and silenced her with a stern look. It was impressive. Abigail could count on one hand the number of times Raelle listened to medical advice.

“So how did you guys escape?”

“Bellweather shouldn’t we wait for debrief? Proper channels and all that?”

Abigail rolled her eyes. “I’m sure we can make an exception.”

“Raelle, I think you’ve been a bad influence on High Atlantic.”

“Come on, tell us,” urged Tally. “We’re the ones that saved your asses.”

“Okay, okay, fine.” Raelle leaned back against the upright pillow. “When we were captured, they flew us be helicopter. But they bound our hands behind our backs and that didn’t really help my shoulder situation. So when one of the Camarilla came over to bind my hands in front, I checked him, grabbed his knife and threw Scylla and me out of the chopper and –“

“Oh my god, Collar.”

“See I told you she would react like this.”

“You jumped out of a flying helicopter?”

“Well, yes but we were over the water, so it was fine. Granted, it was fairly cold and I almost drowned, ‘cause it was hard to swim what with the blood loss and everything, but Scylla had it under control. And when we got to shore, we found shelter. It was freezing but eventually you guys showed up, which was really appreciated by the way.” Raelle glanced towards Scylla. “At least that’s how I remember it, but I wasn’t really lucid for the whole thing.”

Scylla nodded. “Sounds about right.”

Abigail closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. “Collar, I swear to the Goddess.”

“We’re glad you guys are safe,” said Tally.

“If you weren’t bedridden right now, I would kick your ass.”

“In a loving supporting way.”

“I’m glad Scylla was with you, shitbird.”

Raelle smiled softly. “Yeah, me too.”

“We’ll let you guys rest. C’mon, Abigail, the Quartermain wanted us in her office half an hour ago.” Abigail trailed behind Tally, giving Raelle one last glance at the doors. She looked better than when they had found her. There was more color in her face, and she sat up straighter. She looked happier than when she left and Scylla sat by her side, never leaving for a moment. They would be alright, Abigail decided. The next years would be hard, but she had her unit and she couldn’t ask for a better one.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm updating. Guys this is so wild.

Raelle stared at the chipped paint above her bed. The on call fixer had let her go after 24 hour observation and she spent the day training in Skjaldborg formations. Abigail had told her to take it easy and she probably should have listened. The bruises that normally wouldn’t bother her seemed to hurt more and despite being exhausted, she couldn’t sleep. On the other side of the room, Tally slept with one arm thrown over her face and the other on Abigail’s back. Abigail’s head rested on Tally’s chest; limbs wrapped around her makeshift pillow. Raelle smiled despite herself knowing her unit leader would deny ever being in such a position.

Normally, War College cadets would have their own rooms, but Fort Salem’s new Spree inhabitants and the return of witches who hadn’t been active duty in years meant that the Bellweather unit stayed together. There was a part of Raelle, that she would never openly admit to having, that was glad they stayed together. Most nights it meant falling asleep to the sound of Abigail’s soft snoring or talking with Tally until one of them drifted off. 

Most nights.

She closed her eyes trying to bring back the memory.

_It was dark. Everything was cold. Her shoulder was throbbing. Scylla held her close, trying to warm them both. She hadn’t meant to have that conversation while fatigued and lightheaded, but the words slipped between blue lips nonetheless. Scylla only held her closer. “I know, baby. I know. I love you too.”_

Maybe she had imagined it. Maybe it was the product of hypothermia or exhaustion. It couldn’t be though, because Scylla stayed with her in sick bay. She stayed longer than she needed to and only left when they were closing up for the night.

Raelle shoved off her blankets and closed the door as softly as she could. Spree barracks were only two floors above. The hallways were empty and dimly lit and she stood in front of Scylla’s door hand raised. What would she say? 

_I know it’s only been twenty-four hours, but I thought I would come say hi. I know we aren’t together right now, but I’d really like to sleep in your bed tonight._

She was probably already asleep.

“Raelle?” She turned startled eyes landing on Scylla. She was wearing pajamas and had a toiletry bag on her arm.

Not asleep then.

“Hey, is something wrong?” Her blue eyes were searching and sympathetic and she stepped closer, putting a hand on Raelle’s arm. It was only slightly overwhelming.

“I was wondering, if…I, um .” Why was it this hard? “Can I sleep in your bed tonight?”

A flash of surprise was quickly overtaken by agreement. Scylla led them into her room, putting her toiletries by the dresser. They moved in sync having done it a dozen times before. Scylla went for the lights while Raelle pulled back the sheets and slid into the cramped regulation bed. Scylla followed her. Hesitating for only a moment, Raelle’s arm went around Scylla’s waist pulling her close. Their legs tangled together, and Scylla’s hand found Raelle’s.

“I can hear you thinking.”

“Sorry.”

Scylla turned to face her and traced Raelle’s jaw line before brushing hair behind her ear. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“About what?”

“About whatever it is that has you coming to my room this late at night.”

Raelle looked down, refusing to meet Scylla’s gaze even in the dark. She was quiet for a while and Scylla didn’t press her, instead she ran her fingers through the short blonde her.

_I’m in love with you. I never stopped being in love with you. I don’t know how to trust you._

It was like being stuck in limbo between two parts of herself. The part that was hurt by Scylla, that didn’t really know how much of them had been real, the part of her that was scared and ready to retreat back to the Cession. Then there was another voice, that knew Scylla loved her, that knew Scylla regretted what happened, that knew the best place to be was in bed with her arms wrapped around the necro’s waist.   
It didn’t help that the one person she wanted to talk to was the one that made her heart ache. Scylla didn’t stop stroking her hair. Raelle closed her eyes and breathed in the smell of Scylla’s bed. There was the detergent from the sheets, identical to every other bed in Fort Salem. She could smell the disinfectant from the necro labs and the mildew smell of the basement where Scylla studied.

“Not tonight.”

“Ok.” Scylla kissed her forehead and turned back around, taking Raelle's hand and pulling her close. “Night, Rae.”

“G'night, Scylla.”

  
The next morning, Raelle sat across from her unit, blurry eyed and all too tired. She had slept through the whole night for the first time in what felt like weeks, but that didn’t mean she was suddenly a morning person. The fact that Tally seemed to be buzzing with energy and Abigail was sending her smug looks didn’t help.  
“So, Collar, I noticed you didn’t sleep in your own bed last night.”

“Funny, neither did Tally.”

Abigail rolled her eyes, cheeks blushing faintly. “C’mon, don’t deflect. Were you with Scylla?”

Raelle nodded.

“I knew it,” said Tally.

“But it was just sleeping. We're not like,” she gestured vaguely with her hands. “We're taking things slow.”

Her friends seemed to understand more or less what she meant, which was amazing really, when she didn’t even know what she meant. “Well we have your back no matter what. You know that. And for the record, I think Scylla's pretty okay.”

Raelle snorted into her orange juice. “Pretty okay. Wow, Bellweather, you’re laying it on pretty thick. When did you stop thinking she was a shitbird?”

“She is a shitbird,” corrected Abigail. “But she's saved your life and Adil seems to like her.” That was as generous as a Bellweather could be it seemed because a second later Abigail was rushing them to training insisting they were going to be late.

They were early.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For real tho, I named this when it was a one shot. The title is a Hozier lyric like it's not even relevant to the story it just mentioned freezing and I was like, I need a title, this is good enough.
> 
> Anyways, Raelle has a lot of feelings.

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you thought. The characterization, the dialogue, etc.


End file.
